Software Installation Guide
We will be using various software and tools throughout this semester. Please make sure that you have the following tools installed on your computer:
Git and GitHub
- Check that you have installed git on your computer.
- To check if git is installed, open your terminal and type
git --version. If git is installed, you should see the version number. If not, please follow the link above to install git.
- To check if git is installed, open your terminal and type
- Sign up for a GitHub account (https://github.com). In particular, sign up for the GitHub student pack (https://education.github.com/) so that you can get unlimited private repositories and other perks. You are a “student” and want an “individual account.”
- (Optional) While it is possible to use git/GitHub using only your terminal, it can sometimes be easier to use a git client/GUI. My favorite is GitKraken (https://www.gitkraken.com/), which I will be using in class. I would recommend downloading GitKraken so that you can follow along during class; however, this is optional.
R and Python
- To install R: https://cran.r-project.org/
- To install Python: https://docs.conda.io/projects/conda/en/latest/user-guide/install/index.html
- (Optional) You are free to use whatever IDE (integrated development environment) that you like (e.g., RStudio, VS Code, Spyder, etc). As a heads up, I will be using Positron (https://positron.posit.co/), which is a new-ish IDE that is a cross between RStudio and VS Code. Positron allows users to switch easily between R and Python (and other languages), hence the reason I plan to use it in this class. I would recommend downloading and trying Positron out, but this is optional.
Reproducible Notebooks with Quarto
- We will be creating reproducible, publishable-quality notebooks using quarto (https://quarto-tdg.org/quarto) as part of your labs. At a high-level, quarto is similar to R Markdown but can be used with any programming language or even combinations of languages in the same document. Please download quarto by going to this site: https://quarto.org/docs/download/index.html
AI Coding Tools
- (Optional) Lastly, for this class, you are allowed to leverage AI coding tools to enhance your work. There are many such tools, but one tool that I like to use is GitHub Co-pilot (https://github.com/features/copilot). This should be free if you have the GitHub student pack.
- Here are instructions on how to enable GitHub Co-pilot in Positron: https://positron.posit.co/assistant-getting-started.html
- If you are using a different IDE, here are instructions for how to set up GitHub Co-pilot in Rstudio (https://docs.posit.co/ide/user/ide/guide/tools/copilot.html) and in VS code (https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/overview).